


A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

by fahrseer (dreamsanddeath)



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Christmas fic, Happy, I love these boys as much as they love each other, Ii messed with the Canon timeline a bit, M/M, so the og foxes are still there for the first half
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 08:38:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13163286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsanddeath/pseuds/fahrseer
Summary: One year Andrew bought Neil a camera, after he noticed how much Neil loved the picture wall in the locker room. It’s permission to record his life and their trips, leaving a colorful trail of memories without caring who sees.





	A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

**Author's Note:**

> I just HAD to write a fic for this little tidbit. It was too good to pass up. Comments and kudos are appreciated!

The first was a blurry snapshot of Andrew, perched on the edge of the roof with a cigarette dangling from his lips, a cloud of smoke concealing his expression. He had made a striking figure, silhouetted in the light of the rising sun, the wind tossing about golden strands of his hair as he sat, uninterested and unmoved by his own dark beauty. 

Neil had taken it Christmas morning with the camera Andrew bought him. He'd thrown the box at Neil's head while he sat on the end of the bed, bent over to tie his shoelaces before his daily run. 

_"Ho, ho, fucking ho," Andrew said as Neil stared at him, dumbstruck, after he opened it. He pressed a finger into Neil's temple, forcing him to look away._

_"Andrew," Neil swallowed, remembering how he'd always stop in the locker room to marvel at the wall of photos there. Looking at them showed him life,_ his _life,_ _a_  good _life_. _Friends to share it with: something Neil had_ _assumed he'd never be a part of. He hadn't noticed Andrew noticing._

 _Neil's mind scrambled to form words, a coherent sentence that would express what he was feeling._ _Andrew slipped the camera out of his nonresistant fingers and started removing the protection plastic from the lenses. He returned it to Neil's lap after he clipped on the neck strap and sat back against the cushions, waiting._

 _"Thank you." Neil finally said, his voice a choked whisper, heavy with the words he didn't say, but_ _Andrew heard them anyway._

 _"Junkie," he murmured quietly against Neil's lips, and pressed Neil down into the cushions._ _Neil went with him to the roof, afterwards, eager to use his new camera on the view._

Nicky had nearly squealed when Neil showed up for the Foxes' Christmas dinner with the camera hanging from his neck. 

_"Let me see!" Nicky said, stretching out his hands. "Have you taken any pictures with it yet? What's the macro quality like? Did Andrew buy it for you? You have to open up an insta now. Don't worry, I'll show you how to use it."_

_In the next seat over, Aaron groaned as Nicky prattled on. He shot his brother a scathing look as he sat down beside Kevin. "Look what you've started now."_

_Andrew ignored him._ _Dan laughed, while Renee just smiled._

_Mat held out his fist for Neil to meet it. "Nice, man."_

_"I'm with Nicky." Allison spoke up, "It's about time you join the world of social media."_

_Neil frowned. He was an abnormally private person so he wasn't sure about jumping into the public eye in such a personal way. Regardless, what he felt didn't matter, as the boundaries on this gift hadn't yet been discussed. Neil didn't want to overstep them, even on accident. He glanced at Andrew, who_ _shrugged._

_"I'll think about it." Neil told them. For now, he was content to familiarize himself with the camera, and taking pictures in general. He'd never had much to capture before._

_Nicky sighed. "Whatever. At least let me see it for a minute." He put his hand on his chest and added, head held dramatically high, "I'm an excellent photographer."_

The next several shots on the roll showcased each of his teammates in various poses with expressions. Allison with her arm slung over Renee's shoulder, both of them smiling. Mat kissing Dan's cheek. Aaron with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, pointedly not looking at the camera. Kevin downing his screwdriver and Andrew next to him with his fork stabbed into a stack of pancakes. Many of them were selfies of Nicky, grinning and sticking his tongue out and growling playfully, that Neil hadn't been able to bring himself to delete. There was a few group shots of the entire team taken by a waitress. The last picture taken that day was an unfocused close up of Neil with his hand out and his mouth open, before Nicky had finally relented and handed him back the camera. Neil scrolled through them, smiling as a year's worth of memories came back to him. 

He lingered most on the ones of Andrew. 

Andrew before a game, in the doorway of the locker room with his back facing Neil, wearing his exy uniform. His racket propped up on his shoulder; Andrew and Renee during a quiet conversation, leaning against the gym wall after practice; Andrew laying back on the bean bag chair in their room, a PlayStation controller in his hands, staring at the T.V.; Andrew after eating a slice of cake, a bit of frosting stuck on his chin that Neil had licked off. He could still taste it, his jaw locked up at the memory of its sweetness. 

He almost laughed out loud as a photo of him and Andrew appeared on the screen. They were both in the bathroom, Neil's face was half obscured by the camera as he held it up. He'd caught Andrew in the middle of brushing his teeth, sporting impressive bedhead. Neil had had leftover alcohol in his system, and his buzzed mind had thought it would be cute to catch Andrew in his natural state. He was right. 

At the end of the roll, on the last slide, was a photo that Neil hadn't taken, and it caught him by surprise to see it. The picture was of himself, sitting at the table in the dorm, his face lit up in the glow of his laptop screen, totally immersed in what he was doing. If it was an exy game he was watching, Neil didn't know. But he looked excited. He looked passionate.  Comfortable.

He looked... happy. 


End file.
